Tracy Waldron and Rob Renteria, Proprietors;  Risky Dog, Analog Ambassador

Rob has been a sommelier in the Northern California restaurant industry for 16 years. He first worked with the wine list at Rubicon before contributing to the lists at Bacar and EOS, all in San Francisco.  Upon moving to Napa Valley, he was the Wine Director for Martini House in St. Helena, where his list was noted by Michelin guide for it’s excellence; and then at Redd in Yountville, where his wine list was ranked as one of the Top 100 in America by Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Tracy has worked on all sides of the wine industry during the course of her 10 years in the business; as sommelier for Napa Valley restaurants Roux and Martini House; as winery sales director for St. Helena’s acclaimed Vineyard 29; and as an independent distributor and importer on the east coast.

Risk, an American Staffordshire Terrier, has been proving bully-breed stereotypes wrong for over 10 years. Currently, she typifies the ideal Wine Country lifestyle: assisting with wine deliveries before basking in late afternoon vineyard sunshine by day; taste-testing new recipes and entertaining guests by night.

Rob and Tracy’s career paths have taken them individually to many of the great (as well as the lesser known) wine regions of the world.  When choosing wines to enjoy together, or discussing wines we’ve found to be exceptional, we tend to focus on three key palate sensations: texture, acidity, and balance.  With those elements present, wines sing in concert with such a wide variety of foods that it almost becomes a challenge to find a dish that won’t bring out a new dimension in the wine.

For us, wine should be a complement to cuisine, not a brute force with which food must reckon.  It can be difficult (not to mention expensive) to find wines with these characteristics.  We saw the need to create one.  Through our combined personal and professional connections in the Napa Valley, we are fortunate to be able to source exceptional base wines in order to create an extremely versatile blend that is complementary to a seemingly endless range of cuisines.

Vintage after vintage, we hope to bring to you a vivid representation of what we think wine should ultimately be: unpretentious, varietally correct, food-friendly, and affordable.  We know that this concept is “old school,” and that’s the point!  We’re harkening back to an era when wine was more condiment than trophy.  We’re not interested in scores, or knocking your socks off (or your tooth enamel, as the case may be) with extraction and alcohol.  We simply want Analog to be the answer to the question: “What should we drink with this?”